The InEVitable Podcast Episode 136: Full Self Driving Torture Test!
Hate to admit it: Tesla FSD 14.2.2.5 is essentially magic.
I spent a great deal of time as a kid reading about what cars will be like in the future. Flying, obviously, but second to that was the promise of a car that could drive itself. The driver would simply climb inside, utter some variation of, “Computer, take me home,” and voila, your 24-foot pink two-door future mobile would autonomously whisk you up and away from the restaurant. Moments later you’re home. While flying cars are still the domain of futurists (though more than one person has informed that the delayed-for-9-years-but-coming-soon Tesla Roadster can in fact fly) you can go purchase a Tesla right now that can for all intents and purposes drive itself. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
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You can even go FSD yourself in a used Tesla as I discovered. Ed Loh and I decided to record this episode inside MotorTrend’s very own 2022 Tesla Model Y thanks to hardware version 4 and FSD software version 14.2 . What happened next? The slightly shortened version is that I got in the car, hit a button on the steering wheel and said, “Drive here,” then tapped the screen once and honest to Betsy, the blue Tesla drove us expertly to our first destination. Of course, this wasn’t just any destination as you’ll find out. Additionally, the route was chosen for its difficulty. Then we picked another destination and an even more difficult route.
MotorTrend’s 2023 Model Y was purchased with the $15,000 (!) FSD Beta option, years before FSD was actually available. Now the system is $99/month.
Honest journalism demands that I state the truth: I’m blown away. Tesla FSD 14 works incredibly, nearly impossibly well. Truly, truly impressed. Was it perfect? No, and we had some laughs. But good enough. Speaking of good enough, we think this episode is going to make you smile.
Interested in hearing two old car journalists try and wrap their heads around some gnarly future tech? Or better yet, watch us! Why not both? You can watch the vodcast right here or on our YouTube channel. If audio is your thing, download the podcast here or wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you like it, please tell your friends, share us on social media, like the video, and don't forget to give us a five-star review. Better yet, sponsor our channel. We hope you enjoyed this more dynamic, guest-free, and goofier episode. As always, Ed and Jonny will be back next soon with another fresh episode of The InEVitable!
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When I was just one-year-old and newly walking, I managed to paint a white racing stripe down the side of my father’s Datsun 280Z. It’s been downhill ever since then. Moral of the story? Painting the garage leads to petrolheads. I’ve always loved writing, and I’ve always had strong opinions about cars. One day I realized that I should combine two of my biggest passions and see what happened. Turns out that some people liked what I had to say and within a few years Angus MacKenzie came calling. I regularly come to the realization that I have the best job in the entire world. My father is the one most responsible for my car obsession. While driving, he would never fail to regale me with tales of my grandfather’s 1950 Cadillac 60 Special and 1953 Buick Roadmaster. He’d also try to impart driving wisdom, explaining how the younger you learn to drive, the safer driver you’ll be. “I learned to drive when I was 12 and I’ve never been in an accident.” He also, at least once per month warned, “No matter how good you drive, someday, somewhere, a drunk’s going to come out of nowhere and plow into you.” When I was very young my dad would strap my car seat into the front of his Datsun 280Z and we’d go flying around the hills above Malibu, near where I grew up. The same roads, in fact, that we now use for the majority of our comparison tests. I believe these weekend runs are part of the reason why I’ve never developed motion sickness, a trait that comes in handy when my “job” requires me to sit in the passenger seats for repeated hot laps of the Nurburgring. Outside of cars and writing, my great passions include beer — brewing and judging as well as tasting — and tournament poker. I also like collecting cactus, because they’re tough to kill. My amazing wife Amy is an actress here in Los Angeles and we have a wonderful son, Richard.
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